My name is Akunwa Theodora and I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. I’m originally from Delta/Benue state though.

Have you been natural all your life? If not, please tell us how and why you decided to go natural

No I haven’t been natural all my life. In the summer of 2013 I decided to get a hair cut and I shaved the sides of my head. Then I did braids from September to December, and when I took them out I had natural hair mixed with retouched hair. And so I just cut off the relaxed hair so my hair would be even.

Tell us about your Big Chop Day

Okay so…! I just took out my braids and I was like, wtf why is my hair two different textures. Then I remembered natural hair is different from relaxed hair. So I was like, this is interesting, I’m going to try short natural hair today. So I took a pair of kitchen scissors, stood in front of the downstairs bathroom and began to cut the relaxed parts. Then one of my best friends, Joshua, called me and was screaming about Beyoncé’s surprise visual album. And I dropped the kitchen scissors and ran upstairs to DL the real album of the year. 4 hours after screaming at the videos I realized my hair was half cut. Then I cut it all off and went to bed covered in Beyoncé’s approval.

What made you decide to take your healthy hair journey seriously and how’s it going so far?

I started reading about the effects of the relaxer on natural hair and I was like nah. Also the whole construct of society against African hair. I felt taking my own natural hair seriously was a kind of solidarity with my background and culture. It’s going good so far.

How would you describe your hair and your relationship with it?

Lol basically my hair talks and I listen. I don’t mind though, I give her what she wants and she gives me what I want ;) 😂

I don’t wash my hair often. I use more conditioner than shampoo. Twists outs when I have me hair out, or like a double ponytail. Protective styles: braids and wigs.

What recent issues have you had with your hair and how have you resolving/are you resolving them?

I’ve been braiding my hair down for my wigs and my hair always feels dry and too stretched when I take the braids out. So now I moisturize often when I have my wigs on.My scalp tends to get cold and tender in the winter so I learnt to keep my head covered, at least when I’m out for long.

What are your three favourite things about your hair?

The colour. I have dyed bits.How hard it is, lol, people think it’s problematic but it makes my hair really resilient.Shrinkage, cause my Afro feels real when it he springs are condensed.

How do you feel about shrinkage and how do you deal with it?

Lol I like it. But if I want to stretch it out I braid my hair and then loosen it after a few days

What are your favourite hair products so far?

Shea butter, styling gel and coconut oil.

What are your favourite protective styles?

Long twists

What 3 pieces of vital advice would you leave to other naturals?

Don’t worry about the length, beauty takes time.Heat on your hair is never worth it.Invest in a silk scarf, that shit works.

SO! As some of you may know, I decided to treat myself for all my recent (personal) troubles, and go to Disneyland. I didn’t invite anyone. I wanted to go alone (no, not nearly as depressing as you’d think).

I went to bed at 10 PM the previous night and woke up at like 5 AM (nasty habit of mine). Did my shit, got ready, and left, not really being aware of that I was leaving at 6 and it only takes me like an hour to get to DL. I even took my sweet ol’ time getting there. I was in no hurry. I was by myself, doing exactly what I wanted to do and all the time in the world to do it.

So I get there super early, park doesn’t open for me till 10 cuz I’m no namby-pamby hotel-dweller.

First thing on my list to do was book it to Elsa and Anna. (I know they’re new and I knew I was there for the whole day, but I sure as hell didn’t want to stand for 3 hours in one spot.)

Waiting in line was actually not bad. I had my sketchbook with me, blasted my tunes in my ears, and did a LOT of doodling. I just started drawing Frozen-related stuff of course. One of which was inspired by Queen.

I had messed up one of the pictures I did of them. I waved it off and flipped to the next page.

A man who was in front of me with his wife and kids says to me, “Don’t tell me you didn’t think that was good.” I looked up at him and explained that I made Sven waaay too big so I was gonna try again. I got into a conversation with his two daughters and their favorite characters were Elsa and Anna. So I touched up the picture, made it look nice and gave it to them and they loved it.

So I thought “Dude, why don’t I draw something for all the characters I’m gonna meet? I mean I’m waiting in line anyway and the sketches are just gonna sit here, so why not give them to someone who’d appreciate it?” So I did, and I drew this:

The gates to Hell. (I call it that because Olaf’s voice glitched out and he literally sounded like Satan. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.)

I get into their temporary home (they called it a “royal reception” ;D ;D) and they taunt me with this fake food that I can’t eat. Who gave them the right.

I initially had a plan for what I was going to ask and say to them. But as soon as I saw them, I became a shaking ball of emotion, and I wanted to seriously break down and tell them about how fucked I felt this past holiday. There was just something about these girls that made me want to get personal, but of course I had to refrain. (They’re not there to be my therapists xD)

It seemed like they could kind of tell I was getting worked up and they were really sweet and hugged me alot. It was really nice to say the least. And they absolutely loved what I drew for them. It made me happy.

After I left, my emotions took a shit and I had to take a moment. The woman whose daughters I gave the first doodle to saw me in the bathroom and gave me a hug. I don’t even remember her name and I feel bad cuz I’m so terrible with names, but she was super nice and let me tag along with them on the Pirates ride.

I was given an extra Fastpass to Splash Mountain. It was right there, so I thought, what the hell, it’s usually like an hour wait. But fuck, I have a sketchbook, what do I do? Well I could leave it with the people working the ride. But the ladies in front of me were nice enough to put my sketchbook in their backpacks. It stayed mostly dry. It would’ve been far worse had I been sitting on it. They were a hoot. I liked those ladies.

After that I saw that Aladdin was there for like the first time ever, so I popped over to have a little chat and a picture. I don’t think the girl he was with knew what she was doing.

There we go.

After that, Space Mountain cuz it was getting hot and I needed to be cool. And man was I cool. So cool that I couldn’t time the camera correctly.

Enough with rides, back to the task at hand of meeting princesses. All of whom I drew something for.

(our boobs touched when we hugged, be jealous)

Don’t tell Ariel, but Aurora is my favorite princess (I don’t count Anna and Elsa. They have their own special place in my heart.)

I had only seen Ariel and Aurora on the wall. To my surprise, Jasmine was there. AND I HAD NOTHING DRAWN FOR HER, I FELT SO BAD! So she let me sit in the same room as her and doodle her something c: (She was a stinkin’ flirt, lemme tell ya.)

She said that if I wanted some inspiration that I could draw her as a superhero. And something about bats. So I was all “Batgirl! DUH! Why not!” And

Afterwards, did some roaming, saw some shit. (tell me you don’t think this looks like a buttplug on that carousel horse)

NO BEAST, DON’T DIE AGAIN

Also those plays are hilarious. I don’t care what anyone says. And I hope they appreciated how many tears I shed while laughing.

Later, I went back and saw Elsa and Anna a second time since the wait was only 50 minutes. (I was actually kind of surprised that they remembered me at all.) And I told them that they were one of the main reasons why I was there that day, that I had been going through some hard times and that seeing them really lifted my spirits, and thanked them.

I also drew them another picture.

Then my phone died and I went on the Cars ride which was cool. My feet started hurting then I went home and I must say that this was the best day I’ve had in a while. I actually suggest going to Disneyland by yourself sometime if you haven’t before. It’s actually quite peaceful (tho it helped that it wasn’t a terribly busy day). I’d like to take a holiday like this soon, but I’d prefer a time where it didn’t call for it under such circumstances.

(Anyway, I hope you liked this. I meant to post this on my blog-blog. I mean there’s lots of Elsanna in here so LOL I figured it’d be okay.)